People

Türkiye: The Cement Industry Employers' Union (ÇEİS) has appointed Nihat Özdemir as its chair, according to Yatirimlar. Özdemir is the honorary chair of Limak Holding. He co-founded the group, which includes Limak Cement, in 1976. He is the vice-chair of the Turkish Cement Manufacturers' Association (Turkçimento) and the Association of Turkish World Engineers and Architects amongst other governance roles. Notably, he was the chair of the Turkish Football Federation from 2019 to 2022.

Egypt: Tareq Samaha, the CEO of Egyptian Cement Group (ECG), has died. In a post on LinkedIn ECG said that he had “…passed away after a long career of giving and achievements in the field of cement industry.”

Tareq Samaha became the CEO of Egyptian Cement Group in 2018. Earlier in his career he was the Commercial Director for RAK White Cement in the UAE from 2006 to 2016. Before this he worked as the Trade Manager (cementitious products) for Heidelberg Materials Trading from 2003 to 2006. He also held roles with Al Jeri Transportation, Emirates Steel Arkan and Sika during his career. He was a graduate in architecture from Ain Shams University in Cairo.

Czech Republic: MAAG Gear has appointed Serhij Jolkin as its Head of Cement Sales. Jolkin previously worked for Wikov for over a decade. He started in sales roles before becoming the company’s Business Development Manager in 2022. He holds a degree in business, economics and management from the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen.

China: China Tianrui Group Cement has appointed Li Liufa as its chair. He succeeds Li Xuanyu in the role, who has resigned due to “other work commitments.”

Li Liufa is the founder of Tianrui Group. He has been a non-executive director of China Tianrui Group Cement since 2011 and became a member of its nomination committee in 2018. He is responsible for our group’s overall strategic planning and the management of its business. Li was the head of Shanshui Cement from 2015 to 2018. He has also held representative positions for Henan province to the National People’s Congress on a number of occasions between 2003 to 2018. Li holds an executive master of business administration from Peking University. Li Liufa is the father of Li Xuanyu.

Thailand: The ASEAN Federation of Cement Manufacturers (AFCM) has elected Chana Poomee as its president for a two year term from 2025 to 2027. He succeeds Yeoh Soo Keng in the role. Poomee has been the chair of the Thai Cement Manufacturers Association (TCMA) since 2022 and was re-elected in 2024 until 2026. He is also the chief sustainability officer of Siam Cement Group (SCG).